21. Declan
DECLAN
“When are they arriving?” Liz asked the next morning.
“They’ll start coming in soon.”
“Tell me again who’s gonna be here.” As she folded napkins, she looked at everything we’d laid out on the kitchen island. She’d woken up early and had been in a frenzy ever since. She had no sign of a hangover. After she drank a gallon of water, she was ready to roll.
“Everyone except Sam and Kimberly.” I moved over next to her, kissing her cheek. “Babe, it’s gonna be all right. You already know some of them. Now you'll get to know the rest and decide if we’re too crazy for you.”
She smiled brilliantly. “Of course not.”
“I’m also going to use the opportunity to talk to Reese about Malcolm. That, by the way, is all on you. You talked me into it.”
“Really?”
“One hundred percent. I told Luke and Travis at the gym. They won’t let me forget it, don't worry.”
“I can’t wait to see them again. They’re a lot of fun.”
“They’ll ask for photographic evidence of me trying to make brownies. They didn’t believe me.”
She laughed, shoving her right hip into me. I shoved her right back.
“I can dispel that as being a myth because you didn't even try.”
“Should I remind you that it was you who hijacked the entire thing?”
“Yeah, but you didn’t exactly make an effort to return to the kitchen after our shower, did you?”
I tilted closer, speaking against her cheek. “No. I had a better idea of how to fill our time.”
I watched with satisfaction as a blush spread on her cheeks.
“Of course you did.”
My family arrived half an hour later. Travis and Luke came first.
“Hey, we’re early,” Travis said.
“I know,” Luke replied.
Travis grinned at Liz. “We’ve heard some rumors, Liz.”
She chuckled. “About the brownies, right? Don’t believe them. Nothing came of it.”
“Now that sounds like our brother,” Luke said.
I looked straight at Liz, who smiled smugly, wiggling her eyebrows.
“By the way, I have an update about Malcolm,” I told my brothers. Their expressions instantly turned serious. “He wants a meeting with me.”
Luke cocked a brow. “Why did he serve you papers if all he wanted was a meeting?”
“Probably thinks he can intimidate me.”
Travis laughed without humor. “He was never smart. It’s impossible to intimidate you.”
“Oh, I know that. He doesn’t.”
Liz glanced between the three of us but didn’t say anything.
“Babe? Everything okay?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. I’m taking mental notes of this conversation.”
Travis and Luke both chuckled.
“You’re a good sport, Liz,” Travis said.
The rest of the family arrived a few minutes later. Mom and Dad came with Gran, Tyler with Kendra, and Tate with Lexi and Paisley. Reese was in front of the group.
“The whole gang is here,” I told Liz, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Scared yet?” I asked, watching out the window as everyone came into the yard.
“Of course not. I can't wait.”
“Famous last words,” Travis said.
“Yeah. It takes guts to put up with the Maxwell clan. But I know you can do it, Liz,” Luke added.
“I’ve got more than guts. I have balls,” Liz said with a wink.
I groaned, whispering in her ear, “Any reason you’re so sassy this morning?”
She smiled, turning to look at me. “A certain someone put me in a good mood last night. The lucky spell seems to have continued this morning.”
“And I promise after everyone leaves, we’ll pick up right where we left off. But now, it's showtime,” I said before opening the door. "Hey, everyone, this is Liz. Liz, you already know Reese, and this is the rest of the gang."
“Hey, Liz,” Reese said, beaming.
Mom looked beside herself with happiness.
"Oh, Liz, I'm so happy to meet you. I was half afraid Travis and Luke made you up."
"Mom," I said.
She shrugged. "What? You've never introduced us to anyone ever."
I'd never felt a need to do that. No woman I'd dated in the past ever meant so much to me, not enough to let her into my life like I wanted to do with Liz.
Liz glanced at me with wide eyes.
I turned to my dad as he walked up next to my mom. “Dad, please don't embarrass me."
He patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, son. Your mom seems to have the hang of that."
"And besides, she's got me and Luke. We’re good at embarrassing you. So, Dad, you're off the hook today," Travis said.
Tate cocked a brow. “It’s too early in the morning for hazing Declan. Liz, nice to meet you. I’m Tate.”
"Oh, you're the wine brother. That makes you one of my favorites from the get-go."
"Hey, that's unfair," Luke said. "You've met us before. You gave us donuts. I thought we had a bond."
"Wine trumps donuts," Liz said with a wink.
Travis narrowed his eyes. "I said before that I like you, but the jury's still out."
“This is my fiancée, Lexi, and my daughter,” Tate continuing, gesturing to his family.
"You must be Paisley," Liz said.
My niece nodded. "Yes, yes I am."
Liz smiled at her. "Your uncle told me about you."
"He said you can bake. Can you teach me?"
"Sure, it would be my pleasure. Just think about what you want to bake. Maybe make a list, and we'll go through it."
Paisley's eyes lit up. I liked that Liz instantly took to her.
"Sure thing. Gran has already taught me some stuff. We bake together with Lexi."
"Yeah, but I think we can all learn something from Liz here. She's a professional baker, after all," Gran said. She was right behind Paisley.
"I'd love to bake with you whenever I can," Liz said. Gran was looking at Liz with a knowing expression. I’d bet anything that baking recipes weren't the only things she was interested in. This was Gran to a T.
"What took you so long to invite the whole gang here?" Tyler asked after introducing himself and Kendra to Liz.
"Hey, the man wanted to get his cave in order before letting everyone in," Kendra said. I liked her a lot. She was strong and fierce and exactly what my brother needed. He’d met her when he was at a low point—the Chicago Blades had benched him because of the fight with Malcolm and the resulting injury.
"Thank you, Kendra,” I said.
"We could have helped, you know," Mom said.
"Mom, news flash. He did rope all of us into helping him. You, Dad, and Gran are the only ones who escaped," Travis said as we all came into the living room.
"Everyone, Liz and I put some breakfast stuff on the kitchen island for you to dig into."
"Thank you. I need coffee," Mom said.
"Right away, Mom."
We all gathered at the kitchen island, and I patted myself on the shoulder for creating this open space between the kitchen and living room.
The kitchen used to be separated by a wall before, but I liked big spaces like this where the family could gather all at the same time, even if they were doing different things. It was how I grew up.
"Is anyone else suspicious of this get-together or just me?" Tyler asked.
"Can't I ask my own family to breakfast?" I said.
"Yeah, you can," my brother said, tilting his head, still a bit unsure.
"Oh, come on. Everyone, let's eat."
"I'm betting he wanted to brag about Liz. No offense, Liz, that we're talking in the third person."
"None taken," Liz answered.
Mom bristled. "Everyone, stop giving Declan a hard time. He'll never ask us here again."
"You're always welcome, Mom. The jury's out on the rest of them," I said with as much seriousness as I could muster.
While we all had breakfast, Gran stood next to Liz, throwing question after question at her about her family and hometown. My woman was taking it all in stride, and I couldn’t be prouder.
I kept an eye on Reese, so I could find the best moment to talk to her. One hour into breakfast, I realized it wasn’t going to happen all by itself. I needed a reason to take her away from the group.
As I handed her the third cup of coffee for the day, I said, “Reese, want to come with me outside? I need your opinion on the outdoor furniture.”
Travis stared at me, shaking his head in disapproval, and Luke grimaced. Yeah, it was a lousy excuse, but I couldn’t think of anything better.
I gave Reese a meaningful look, and her eyes widened.
“Sure.”
She held her coffee cup with both hands as we headed to the patio. She said nothing until we reached the seating area. Neither of us sat down.
"Tyler is right, isn't he? You did ask us here for a purpose. Or at least me."
I hated this. I knew how she’d react, and I wanted to shield her from it, but Liz was right. She needed to know.
"First, I want you to let me talk until I finish. Don't interrupt me."
"When do I do that?" she asked.
"All the time."
She pressed her lips together, sighing. "Fine, I won't."
"Malcolm is suing me." She opened her mouth. I pointed at her. "You said you wouldn't interrupt me."
"Okay, go on. What for?"
"There's something I didn't tell you. Remember that the Halsey Group fired him?"
"Yes. Karma got him right in the butt."
"It wasn't karma. I spoke to the Halsey Group, sort of made them see my point of view."
She set the cup of coffee on the rattan table, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh my God, Declan. What did you do? How did you even get them to do that?”
“I can be very convincing when I want to."
"So, wait, why is he suing you now?" Her voice was shaking. Her shoulders dropped.
"He said defamation.”
“Sounds like you don’t believe him.”
“I don’t. He’s got no case. I called his bluff, asking for a court date. Instead, his lawyer asked for a meeting. In my professional experience, I’m guessing he wanted to intimidate me. Anyway, I want you to be aware just in case he tries something."
Reese ran a hand through her hair. “I want to be at that meeting.”
I clenched my jaw. “No.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this is my mess.”
“He’s threatened to sue me, not you. He’s trying to intimidate me, and that never works. You know that.”
“I do. But he’s going to use me to get to you. That’s why I want to be there.”
I instantly realized she was 100 percent right. Why hadn’t it occurred to me?
“Reese, seeing him will hurt you.”
“I know.” She held her chin high, clearly not about to relent.